Does MCV, GGT, AST And ALT Tests Detect Drugs Like Oxycodone Or Suboxone?

Posted on Tue, 25 Feb 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 25 Feb 2014 Answered on

Tue, 18 Mar 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : I'm having MCV, GGT, AST and ALT tests done to detect alcohol consumption. I have not drank alcohol in over a year and a half. Will these tests detect oxycodone or suboxone? A year ago I starting taking oxycodone after a serious ATV accident and started to abuse it. I just began the process of weaning off with suboxone but have taken oxycodone 8 times in the past month. Will they show up on the above blood/urine tests? Thanks so much

Answered by Dr. Dr. Michelle Gibson (30 minutes later)

Brief Answer: they would not show in those tests Detailed Answer: HI, thanks for using healthcare magic Drugs such as oxycodone and suboxone would only be detected by drug screening tests. MCV is part of the complete blood count. With alcohol use a type of anemia can occur that causes the MCV to increase. Alcohol use can also be associated with changes in the liver and therefore changes in liver function tests such as GGT, AST and ALT. These tests cannot detect the levels of any drugs including alcohol , they can give an indication of alcohol complications because of possible anemia and liver injury. They will not detect the presence of oxycodone and suboxone as stated these would show up in drug screening lab tests. I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar